Kiss Me Through the Phone
by basket-of-posies
Summary: Rachel calls Danny the morning after.  past Rachel/Danny, mentioned Danny/Steve


Danny was expecting this phone call; he knew it would come sooner or later, but he wasn't expecting it as soon as the morning after; however, it was happening—right then and there.

He stopped staring at the caller ID on his phone and finally answered it, one ring before it went to voicemail. With a deep sigh, he put it to his ear.

"Rachel."

"Danny."

"Listen, I'm—"

"No, Danny, don't apologize. I had no right asking you to leave, and I understand." The crack in her voice told Danny a different story.

"Don't be such a diplomat, Rachel. You're pissed, you're upset, you probably hate my guts right now, and I'm sorry. I'm honest-to-God sorry. I didn't mean to just skip out like that, but things... well things are really bad right now, and I couldn't just leave my team." Danny sighed and ran his hand down his face.

"I thought... I thought this time could be different. I thought I could be with _you_, not your job, but once again you've proven me wrong." She had slipped; Danny could hear the anger in her voice this time.

"Rachel, please, you know damn well this is more than just a _job_—my team, they're my family now, a home away from home. I already had to leave one family because of you, remember that? When you flew halfway across the world, and I followed for Gracie? I left everything, Rachel."

A sob sounded through the phone, causing Danny to close his eyes and mentally curse. He never dealt well with crying.

"Well, what about Grace now? And what about... what about my pregnancy? You'd be leaving two children behind."

"Are you absolutely sure you're pregnant, Rachel? What if it was a false positive? Are you even sure about me being the father? It was one time..."

"No, Danny, no, I don't know anything, but it all fits, and if you'd really like, we'll take a paternity test, if that's what will help you sleep at night!"

Danny let out another sigh. "How about I get Grace in the summer? She'll love spending her vacation here."

Muffled sounds of sniffling and gasping breath came as Rachel understood what Danny had just decided.

"So you're leaving me, us, for them... for him, really. It's not about the 'team,' is it, Danny?"

"If you're referring to Steve... then yes, it's also about him, but not completely."

"I thought... I thought that when we, when we happened, again, that I was just imagining things... but no, my eyes weren't deceiving me. You two... you're in love, aren't you?"

Danny really couldn't handle how broken Rachel sounded.

"We're getting there," He affirmed softly and rubbed at his forehead as his mind drifted to ideas of how to get Steve out of this mess, "But right now, he's caught himself in such God-damn tangle of a web, and I've gotta do something to get him out."

"Of course, you've got to go and be the hero, the man of the hour, don't you?" He could nearly taste the bitterness of her voice.

"Rachel," he sighed, "I'm sorry, again. Please, tell Gracie I love her. I'll try to visit as soon as I can."

"I will," Rachel sniffled. "Well, go on then, Daniel, go save your man."

"I'm sorry, Rachel..."

"Just tell me one thing! Why did you sleep with me? If you're with him... why?"

Danny took in a deep breath and let it out. Why? He honestly didn't know why. It seemed like a good idea at the time? He was still hopped up on pain meds? He was caught up in the memories of what used to be? None of them were reasons he'd accept for cheating, and none of them would satisfy Rachel, nor would they satisfy Steve as soon as he found out.

"I don't know, Rachel," he said softly. "I... don't know. I shouldn't have. We... shouldn't have. We're a done deal, we're through, and we shouldn't have tried again. I'm still a cop, and you still don't want to be married to a cop. Nothing's changed."

"Everything's changed. Goodbye, Danny."

"Goodbye, Rachel. Remember, tell Gracie I love her."

Rachel hung up right after Danny finished speaking, leaving Danny sitting on his the edge of his bed with his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry," he said to no one in particular.


End file.
